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Fridge Runs and Runs...

14 years ago

A week or so ago we noticed water on a couple containers in the fridge section of or Whirlpool Gold refrigerator (I can't remember the model number, but it's a freezer-on-tio model). Fridge is about 6 years old and never caused us any trouble to date.

We pulled the fridge out from the wall and took a look behind; wasn't much to see everything is covered by a pressboard back. I was surprised how clean it was back there, usually there areas are prime for all manner of dirt and dog hair. We didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so we put it back. Yesterday we emptied the freezer section an turned the temp to warmer (as low(warm) a setting as it would go) to try and coax the fridge to cycle to defrost. Not sure if it did or not, but it hasn't stopped running since yesterday, and there is quite a bit of frost buildup in the empty freezer (we moved most of the food to the outside freezer).

Not sure if this is normal for these fridge's or not - to run that long...it's not the compressor running it's a fan or something...or maybe it is the compressor, I don't know much about refrigeration...

S~

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Comments (5)

llaatt22
14 years ago
Try pulling the plug and leave the doors open to let it completely defrost overnight. Pull the grille off the front to see if the floor level radiator needs cleaning. Keep an eye out for the defrost water hose filling the drain tray down there as well (good) or water dripping into the inside of the refrigerator section (not so good). When it has finished defrosting plug it in tomorrow and see if it runs normally for a week or requires servicing.
dadoes
14 years ago
Changing the temps setting has no effect on defrosting. Defrost is trigger by either a mechanical timer or by an electronic control board. Including a model number is always a good idea when asking service questions on an appliance, so people responding know what they're dealing with.
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Do a search on GW, (at the bottom) for Electrolux Fridge. I posted the link below for your convenience. Their older models (which your loaner may be) seemed to have a cooling system that was to say the least,--weak-- Hopefully there newer models are better, but we won't know that "Till the guinea pigs" begin posting here. While I am an Electrolux fan, have their oven, speed oven Induction cooktop and wine fridge---all flawless for > 3 years now, I would pass for now on their fridges until we see more data here. When I bought appliances in 2006 Electrolux did not make a 48" SxS fridge(built in) which was what I wanted. I ended up buying a Jenn-air and it too has "Joined the ranks of trouble free" Never have had a repairman in my kitchen, and I wish you the same luck. Gary Here is a link that might be useful: Electrolux Fridge posts by GW Folks
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Creek side... Might want to post or cross post on the appliance side for this item. My "guess" is since you have nothing in there, it is having to work hard to keep the internal air cold. Thought I read somewhere that it is better to have things nicely distributed thruout your frig/freezer to make it easier on the mechanicals. Be curious to hear from others as we have an Electrolux CD FD on its way to us as well....
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So it's the compressor pump or a relay thats clicking. I would check the seals around the doors. If the temp is constant then cold is leaking out. If it's too cold because its running too much then it's a thermostat. I suppose you could have a coolant leak as well.And that might make the compressor come on more often. It doesn't sound normal if it didn't have this problem for the first year.
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Clean the condensate collection tray at bottom of the refrigerator. All brands and models of self-defrosting refrigerators and vertical freezers have them, the melted ice-water must drain away to somewhere. The collected water is evaporated via heat from the compressor. Designs vary. Some are accessible by removing the front toekick grill, others via a removable panel on back. Some trays can be pulled out for cleaning, others are fix-mounted and must be cleaned in-place.
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texaskitchentoo
14 years ago
Applinace Guru is your friend...

Here is a link that might be useful: Link
gtrshop
Original Author
14 years ago
Yeah, sorry about the lack-o-model number...wasn't at home when I posted (BTW: Whirlpool Gold GR9FHKXPS00). As it turns out the vents at the back between the fridge and freezer were frozen solid. Moved frozen food to outdoor chest freezer, unplugged fridge and waited for ice to melt.

On reflection, wife thinks hot pot of soup stock without a lid may have caused high humidity, thus the problem. Will monitor for a few days. If nothing else, at least fridge is clean and defrosted now :)
weedmeister
14 years ago
Assuming this is a frost-free model, your wife is incorrect. It's more likely you have a problem with the defrost, either the timer, control board or heater elements.

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